Examination of Witnesses (Questions 80-85)
Mr Jonathan Faull and Mr Henrik Nielsen
16 OCTOBER 2007
Q80 Chairman: Do either of them send
observers to the operations?
Mr Faull: Not that I am aware of.
Mr Nielsen: No, I do not think that has occurred
yet. That would, to start with, be subject to the approval of
the Member State that is hosting the operation.
Q81 Chairman: And is the representative
of UNHCR, for instance, in Warsaw somebody who would anyway be
there as a UNHCR representative or as somebody specifically attached
to Frontex?
Mr Faull: I think specifically attached.
Mr Nielsen: Yes.
Mr Faull: I think it is a new position.
Q82 Chairman: On a resident basis?
Mr Faull: Yes. You may meet him or her there.
Q83 Lord Jopling: Does Frontex have
any role at all in seeking to find intelligence as to when illegal
immigration is about to happen, ships sailing, movements of that
sort? Have they an intelligence role, because one would have thought
that if they could have it would be a very valuable part of their
activities?
Mr Faull: No. My understanding is that they
are entirely dependent on Member States for that sort of information.
They do not have networks of intelligence operatives.
Mr Nielsen: No, but we are trying to put them
together with the ILO network, the immigration liaison officers
of Member States that are active in third countries, which could
feed into at least Frontex risk analysis with their knowledge
and their intelligence from specific third countries.
Q84 Lord Marlesford: During our recent
study of the Schengen information system we learned that the British
Government much regretted the refusal to share information on
Schengen with the United Kingdom Government even though the United
Kingdom Government paid its full whack of the cost of the Schengen
Information System. I personally would deplore it as an appallingly
non-communautaire, dog-in-the-manger attitude. Do you intend
that attitude to continue in the development of Frontex or will
you try and improve that?
Mr Faull: We work with the legal situation as
it is, trying to do what is best for all Member States, whatever
legal arrangements they may have decided to have. The integrated
border management system that we have is Schengen-related, quite
obviously, and is based on the Schengen rules in which the United
Kingdom does not participate. Schengen Member States assess and
develop responses to their integrated border management challenges
according to their needs. The United Kingdom, no doubt, individually
faces very similar but not necessarily identical challenges and
it may be regretted that unless the necessary conversations are
able to take place full account is not taken on the Schengen side
of British concerns and full account is not taken on the British
side of Schengen concerns, both, after all, being extremely close
neighbours and bound together in all sorts of economic and other
ways in the European Union, so there is a risk of loss of useful
experience and sharing of best and worst practice, what works
and what does not, across the Channel. I think everybody is aware
of that and everybody tries with the best possible will to make
sure that there are bridges between the two systems, but there
are two systems and as time goes by and as the integrated border
management system of the Schengen area becomes more integrated
it is likely to grow in ways which are different from what the
United Kingdom is doing, facing its own specific national challenges,
which again are extremely similar to those that the Schengen countries
face but not necessarily always the same, and certainly the United
Kingdom is not involved in devising the common solutions which
the Schengen countries are.
Q85 Chairman: Director-General, you
have dealt admirably with our questions, if I may say so, as always.
We are very grateful to you and we are very grateful for your
offer to let us have your brief. Can I thank you both very much
for coming, and again for your courtesy in coming chez nous
as opposed to chez vous.
Mr Faull: Indeed. We are on Her Majesty's territory
here.
Chairman: Yes indeed. Thank you again.
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